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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28081623">Decisions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadelineL/pseuds/MadelineL'>MadelineL</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Defender of the Universe because 'Lion Force' is literally nothing in existence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff and Angst, Minor Angst, Pandemics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:54:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28081623</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadelineL/pseuds/MadelineL</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a deadly illness hits Arus, Lotor knows he has the cure, and will let the humans have it to save Allura.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allura/Lotor (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Decisions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm quarantined and wanted to write this short fic. Stay safe in this pandemic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lotor took a breath and closed his eyes before he started pacing across his innermost chamber again. He didn’t like the situation he found himself in. He was poised to get everything he had been working for and he... didn’t like it one bit.</p>
<p>Sighing for the hundredth time, he turned and sat on his bed. After minutes of staring out into space, he laid back and rolled himself into a ball. Closing his eyes, the prince tried to focus on the good things that would happen… but all he saw was her face, laughing and smiling like she always did with those damn pilots of hers, before turning and yelling at him to get away from her like she did so often.</p>
<p>Somehow, Lotor managed to fall asleep… but he got no rest. His dreams were plagued with visions of the horrifying situation on Arus; the humans, in all their meaningless to him, still horrified him by being slumped all over, and walking like half dead creatures, begging for water. They usually screamed and ran from him, or angrily fought him off. But they just ignored him in their misery. He had seen some of it first-hand when it had first started, and his memories plagued him with the visions.</p>
<p>In some of his nightmares, a dirty girl shuffled around, begging for a drink. Other times, she was on the ground, either groaning in pain or already dead. All of them were Allura. One of the dreams ended with him nearly completely jumping out of his bed after a spectre rose from her body and chased him, screaming that he had killed her by withholding the cure he knew would have saved her from her untimely fate.</p>
<p>Wiping the sweat from his brow with shaking hands, Lotor knew he couldn’t keep waiting on his decision. He would lose everything he had worked so hard for, and endured so much to gain, but her being alive and healthy was becoming far more important to the wayward prince. Her very life relied on him, and while he was upset by what he knew he had to do, a small spark of joy was buried deep within him knowing he alone would be her salvation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Allura took a deep breath and smiled at Doctor Gorma. It had been a few days since she had taken a miracle drug that slowly cured her. She vaguely remembered being given it in the midst of her fever delirium, but she had yet to hear the origins. Sitting on the edge of her freshly changed bed in a fresh gown, with morning sunlight streaming in through her windows, the last week felt a hundred years ago.</p>
<p>“Take a few more deep breaths, Your Highness.”</p>
<p>She did as instructed, and the sweet air feeling of her lungs unobstructed made her want to jump up and dance with relief.</p>
<p>“With your breathing back to normal and your fever abated, I believe we can safely say you have recovered, Your Highness,” the doctor said, smiling at her.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Doctor Gorma. I don’t know how you managed this so quickly, but please, I must know it’s being given to my people. To know they suffer when I have been cured....”</p>
<p>Nanny, having been quiet for the better part of the examination from her seat against the wall, finally spoke up. “They are being cared for quite well, child, you needn’t concern yourself over them. Right now we must focus more on what horrible fate we narrowly avoided, and all due to your insistence on not marrying!”</p>
<p>The deep breath Allura took to stay calm at the outburst suddenly didn’t feel so sweet.</p>
<p>“Nanny, this is not the time-”</p>
<p>“Nonsense! This is the best of times. We must-”</p>
<p>Doctor Gorma interrupted. “Madam, please let Her Highness rest, she has been through an ordeal. I believe she has others wishing to see her.”</p>
<p>Her old nursemaid went to protest, but Allura ignored her as she rose and moved past. Not paying attention to the discussion behind her, she opened the door to exit her bedroom.</p>
<p>Scattered around her sitting room were several important people to her, and she smiled at their expectant faces. Coran, a datapad now forgotten in his lap, had a look of relief across his features. Lance, lounging back in his chair, wore a dazzling smile for her. And the last was Keith, one leg crossed over the other with a cup of coffee raised to his lips, with clear shock and relief of his own in his widened eyes.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” she said bright and cheerfully.</p>
<p>The joyous commotion took several minutes to settle down.</p>
<p>Allura laughed at a joke Lance said with a lightness she felt she had lost ages ago.</p>
<p>“Please, I am fine now. But you must tell me what has occurred? Last I remember was being told it would take so very long. I am glad we found the way to end this plague. Who should I be rewarding for services to Arus?”</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure what fell faster, their faces, or the feeling it gave her in her gut. Lance lightly coughed.</p>
<p>When the silence dragged on, Allura grew concerned.</p>
<p>“Coran?”</p>
<p>Her aging advisor rubbed his temples before he straightened up and looked her in the eye.</p>
<p>“Princess, we have a strange tale to relate to you.”</p>
<p>Slowly Allura sat on the settee next to him. “Coran....”</p>
<p>The silence dragged before Lance had had enough.</p>
<p>“It was Lotor.”</p>
<p>The princess turned, blinking at him in disbelief. “What? But... how?”</p>
<p>Keith sighed. “He just showed up. We almost shot him down, but he indicated he had something we wanted....”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Running into Command, Keith tried not to sneeze too much.</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>Coran! What-”</em></p>
<p>“<em>It’s Prince Lotor,” he said with nearly exasperation. </em></p>
<p>“<em>Oh come the fuck on, can’t we have any peace?”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Keith glanced over his shoulder at Lance, who had followed him at a slower pace, his thick blanket wrapped about his shoulders and trailing on the floor.</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>Looks like we might have to go out into the Lions after all. I know me and Lance can do it, maybe Hunk, but Pidge is way out of commission. And the Princess….”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Coran was about to respond, when a hail sounded. They looked at one another with worried expressions. Coran slowly turned his seat forward and opened the line.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Prince Lotor was smirking, setting them all on edge.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>&lt;&lt;Greetings, Arus. I have something you want.&gt;&gt;</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>Oh, fu-” Lance stopped when Keith put his hand on his shoulder.</em></p>
<p>“<em>You don’t have anything we want, Lotor, unless you’re signing a peace treaty.”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>The prince’s smirk faltered. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>&lt;&lt;No. That is beyond my authority. However, I do have a gift for Princess Allura.&gt;&gt;</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>You’ll have to excuse us, <b>Your Highness</b>, but we have no time for games at current,” Coran said in a voice laced with clear annoyance.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>&lt;&lt;Oh, this is no game. Unless, of course, you wish to refuse to accept the cure to your little pandemic? It would be better to come straight from Allura’s mouth, if that is the case.&gt;&gt;</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>Cure? What cure?”</em></p>
<p>“<em>You lying scumbag! This is probably all your doing from the beginning!”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Keith stared at Lotor. When he didn’t respond to the taunt like the others, it was clear the Prince’s attention was drawn to him.</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>What do you want for this, Lotor?”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>There was silence at his words. All of the smugness left Lotor’s countenance.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>&lt;&lt;I merely wish for Princess Allura to be well.&gt;&gt;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lance started to yell something next to him before erupting into a coughing fit, but Keith was focused on Lotor. He was somber in a way he usually wasn’t.</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>What,” Coran began, “is it that you want from us for this supposed miracle drug?”</em></p>
<p>
  <em>The prince’s nostrils twitched slightly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>&lt;&lt;Merely that you never mention any of this in a capacity that gets back to my Father.&gt;&gt;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With that sentence, Keith was convinced the bastard was telling the truth. He was doing this for Allura, and most likely at great risk to himself.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Keith walked closer to Coran, to stand next to him, shoulders squared.</em>
</p>
<p>“<em>You have a deal, Prince Lotor.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Allura attempted to prevent tears from falling by blinking rapidly, but was unsuccessful. That evil, hateful prince had given her people the power to recover. She would have expected him to swoop in to maim and murder, as was his wont, but instead he had given Coran the tools necessary for them to obliterate the illness killing her people. It was too much.</p>
<p>“He only did this for me, he did not care about any other,” she whispered, unsure how to even process it.</p>
<p>Keith sighed next to her, and squeezed her arm gently. When she looked up at him, he spoke.</p>
<p>“While I would normally agree, Princess, that does not appear to be <em>entirely</em> the case. He could have just barged in and taken you, gave you the cure, and been done with it while holding you captive. Too many were incapacitated to give him much of a fight, including us, and I think he knew it.”</p>
<p>In her shock, her tears stopped as her captain continued, putting his hands back in his lap and looking away from her.</p>
<p>“Lotor came here virtually alone. His few underlings looked uneasy about the whole ordeal, and kept to themselves until they quickly unloaded the cargo and left. He walked around like he owned the place.”</p>
<p>“A pompous ass, as usual,” Lance interjected.</p>
<p>“Yes, I would agree with that, Lance. He certainly was patting himself on the back, but he was rather forthcoming with everything. He lacked any hostilities. If we didn’t have the ability to read the data and understand it for ourselves and how it matched with how far we’d already come with our own scientists, I would be inclined to think it was some sort of plot of his.”</p>
<p>Allura looked down at her clenched and intertwined fingers in her lap, hardly believing this, even from her own pilots.</p>
<p>“Allura.” Lance saying her name gently made her look up at him. “I know he’s a piece of crap, but... when he was here he did ask after you in a kinder way than he does anything else. He even said if we couldn’t handle it, he would take you somewhere for so-called ‘better treatment.’” Her pilot rolled his eyes, but she didn't notice.</p>
<p>“I can hardly reconcile this,” she whispered as her head dropped in thought, with the new knowledge that Prince Lotor had risked his reputation and given up an assured victory to cure her of a deadly disease.</p>
<p>“It is the truth of the matter, Princess,” Coran said softly. “Please, take caution. I expect he will be after some sort of reward for his gamble, since we know he never does anything for the betterment of others.”</p>
<p>Worry filled her as she nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That evening, as Allura pulled up the covers on her bed to retire for the night, she heard a light tapping on her window.</p>
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